Lone Tree and Denver Liposculpture Procedures

In youth, the facial contours are smooth with gentle transitions from one area of the face to another. As we get older, our face loses volume and creases begin to appear where none existed before. There are many options to restore the volume of the face, including Soft Tissue Fillers and Liposculpture. In Liposculpture, your own fat is used to replace the fat that was lost in aging. Fat cells are taken from the abdomen through an incision in the belly button. The fat is then injected into the areas of the face to replace the lost volume. In this way your own tissue is used to replace that which has been lost with aging.

In essence, Liposculpture and synthetic soft tissue fillers perform the same function: to replace lost volume in the face. So, if you have been happy with synthetic filers in the past, then you’ll Liposculpture may be for you. With comparable results, Liposculpture offers a more cost-effective alternative. If you are not healthy enough to undergo sedation or general anesthesia then you are not a candidate for this procedure (but see soft tissue fillers).

Potential Benefits

There are many benefits of Liposculpture over traditional injectable soft tissue fillers. One major benefit is that you are using your own fat tissue to replace lost facial volume. Therefore, there is no risk of rejecting or reacting to the tissue. Another benefit of Liposculpture is that it lasts longer than out-of-the-box soft tissue fillers. While synthetic fillers can last 8-16 months, the fat that is transferred in Liposculpture last as long as you do! The fat is living tissue that survives and provides tissue augmentation for the rest of your life. There is also growing data that adult stem cells within the transferred fat have a revitalizing effect on the skin, though the mechanism is unknown.

Potential Risks

As with any procedure, bruising, infection and poor results can occur. Not all of the fat that is transferred in this procedure will survive–it is estimated that about 50% of the fat transferred to areas around the mouth and 80% of that transferred around the eyes will survive the procedure. Additionally, patient variables such as smoking and diabetes effect how much fat survives in any given patient. Contour irregularities (bumps) and asymmetry can also occur, though they genereally resolve with time.

Understanding the Procedure

Liposculpture is typically performed in the operating room under conscious sedation or general anesthesia. A very small incision (3 mm) is made in the belly button and gentle liposuction is performed. This is a special type of liposuction that is not done to reduce the size of the belly. Rather, the gentle liposuction for this procedure preserves the integrity of the fat cells and increases their survival after transfer. The harvested fat is washed by hand and is then injected into the areas of the face to replace the lost volume.

What to Expect After Liposculpture

After Liposculpture there is a mild bruising and swelling in the areas that were augmented with the fat. It is recommended that patients take off 1-2 days from work. As mentioned above, some of the fat will not survive the procedure, and the apparent volume will decrease for the first few months. However, after this period there is often a slight rebound in the fat volume as the cells establish themselves.